The nation’s current pandemic – COVID 19 – and the necessary changes we all have endured to our daily life, at work, at school, at church – has made the Wood County Health Department a very visible “front and center” in 2020. It is important, though to remember all the health services the department provides and how valuable these services are to all the citizens of Wood County.
The Wood County Health Department’s request, a 10-year 0.5-mill renewal levy, has allowed for a stable funding base to locally supplement the state, federal, and grant funding sources used by the department to provide services for environmental health, for nutrition and other needs for women, infants and children, for restaurant inspections, for emergency preparedness, for the Community Health Center, and of course for public health needs.
This supplemental local funding is required because state funding of local health programs has historically been inadequate to cover these very basic requirements.
As the former president of the Wood County District Board of Health, I can confirm the careful scrutiny given to the use of all the funding available to the department. The “squeaky clean” annual audits by the Ohio Auditor attests to the board’s oversight, and the department staff’s careful use of the taxpayers’ monies. This is always a primary concern when it comes to the board’s deliberations.
Your continued support of the department by an affirmative vote for the renewal levy will be appreciated and will allow for continuation of the vital services of the Health Department.
Frank McLaughlin
Bowling Green
